CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Charleston was one of several cities across the Mountain State and throughout the nation taking part in National Night Out Against Crime Tuesday night.
The event serves as a means for the community and law enforcement to get to know each other better and build relationships in an informal, relaxed setting.
Murders of officers in Dallas and in Baton Rouge, La., in recent weeks following the shooting deaths of two men in Louisiana and Minnesota have caused community-police relations to become a hot-button national issue, but Charleston PD Deputy Chief Jason Beckett didn’t think that tension had spread to the Capital City.
“On a national level right now I think there is some distrust between a lot of the communities and the police,” Beckett said at Orchard Manor on Charleston’s West Side. “Here in Charleston, I think we’re ahead of the curve. Because of events like this and others, we have a pretty good relationship with the communities and Charleston.”
Charleston Police Chief Brent Webster said the Orchard Manor ‘Night Out’ event has always seen a high turnout, regardless of recent national or local events.
“Maybe it’s more emphasized this year because of the national events, but there’s always great turnout here,” he said. “It gives us an opportunity to talk about crime prevention, awareness and fellowship. And it gives the officers an opportunity to be seen in a very positive light.
Gretta Hairston, who attended with a motorcycle club, acknowledged that police work is dangerous, but still wanted to see changes.
“The situation nationally has put us as a country at reckoning again with some issues related to human relations,” Hairston said. “I want to just say that these issues have never really gone away. Not all police are evil. I’m very thankful for the police who are good and try to help citizens, but there’s an element of evil policemen.”
Patrolman Ryan Montague thought national media had skewed the perception to seem like there’s more of a problem with police-community relations than there really is, but events like National Night Out send a positive message.
“People see that we’re really not what some of the news channels paint us to be,” he said. “It’s not what everybody believes that they hear. We’re out here for them, we really are. We strive to do that every day that we work, to be out here for the community. We just want to show them that.”
Traci Phillips, who lives on Charleston’s West Side, said she attended to build a better relationship with police and her neighbors.
“I came out to have a good time with the community in light of everything that’s going on in our community and across the country. I think this is a good venue to be out to bridge the gap with the police and law enforcement, and the community.”
Charleston’s West Side has seen its share of violence in the past month, with a fatal shooting on Fourth of July night at Littlepage Terrace, and another two days later at Orchard Manor not far away.
About a dozen National Night Out events were held in Charleston Tuesday night, as well as in Parkersburg, Martinsburg and other cities.